President Isaac Herzog sat down in his Jerusalem office for an interview with the Saudi state-owned Al Arabiya TV station, which aired Thursday evening, telling the outlet that is his dream to see peace between the two countries. He also expressed pain at the death toll in the war in Gaza, saying his heart breaks for civilians killed in the conflict.

“I have great respect for Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman,” Herzog said of the Saudi leader. “The thing that we want most in Israel is to see rapprochement between the nations.”

He said he hopes to “meet the Saudi Arabian leadership officially in due course.”

“It is my dream to see peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia,” the Israeli president said, noting that the two nations should negotiate directly “with the support from the United States.”

In 2023, Saudi Arabia was engaged in tentative talks on normalization, but it abruptly pulled out as the war in Gaza erupted following the Hamas-led terror invasion of southern Israel on October 7. Saudi officials have repeatedly said they will not recognize Israel without a path to an independent Palestinian state, which Israel’s current government opposes.

“I believe we are at a moment of dialogue between Jerusalem and Mecca,” Herzog said. “I believe that there is a moment of dialogue between people of all faiths in the region, and I’m trying to pursue it in my own way.”

In addition to normalizing ties with Riyadh, Herzog........

© The Times of Israel